More thoughts on book formats.

The holiday are almost over. I have bought books for school, both in print and digital, and have even listened to a couple of audiobooks as I have driven around the state.

I have bought books for my niece and nephews, including the newest Graeme Base picture book. My niece has loved his books since I gave her a signed copy of an earlier book. He has become her favourite  artist so much so that she did her research piece in her art subject on him. She is only in grade 2 but takes all these things very seriously. I love seeing her share her books with her little brothers and her friends. Graeme Base’s books are great for sharing experiences as they have the puzzle element that  just begs for sharing the experience.

I, on the other hand, have only read from my kindle when reading personally. It is just so easy to carry with me and to get a follow-up book in a series when no bookshop is around. I still read paper version books but these holidays it has been e-books. It does not have to be either/or but just what is easiest/convenient at the time.

Below is another infographic that compares the different formats.

Browse more infographics.

CBCA Book of the Year 2012 – Older Readers Winners & the others on the Shortlist

Over the weekend I reflected on the winners and the shortlist in general. They were books that had appealed to many of our boys but it was interesting that the winners were mainly male authors, Ursula Dubosarky being the exception. This seems to remind me of a criticism of some other writers awards. Does it mean anything, probably not, and the judges were all female this year – so would there be a bias? As always I suppose there will be some discussion about what missed out and what was declared the winner but I have no complaints and I will be able to “sell” all of them to our students.

My favourite, Goliath (part of the Leviathan series)by Scott Westerfeld didn’t make the shortlist but I do like to read Robert Newton (Runner – set in Richmond in the early 1900′s and The Black Dog Gang, early Sydney) and Scot Gardner (One Dead Seagull and White Ute Dreaming amongst others). Both these authors have done a lot to encourage our boys here to read. Scot Garner has also been to the school in the past to talk to bots about writing. Many were very impressed and his books flew off the shelves for the next few months. Bill Condon has written some very interesting books but a smaller number of our readers seem to like to read his works.

It was also interesting that the publisher who had the most success this year was Allen and Unwin. I seem to think that Penguin have been the dominant publisher in the past. Allen and Unwin have certainly  been very proactive in supporting some good Australian authors.

You can listen to a great podcast recorded by two judges, Trisha Buckley (2012 QLD judge) and Tehani Wessley (2012 WA judge), on the Book Nut Blog. They recorded their discussion on the shortlist for the 2012 CBCA Older Readers category a week before the winners were announced. They were very careful and there were no spoilers before the winners were announced. You can find the podcast on iTunes by searching The Book Nut or access via the Podbean website here

The Winner

Gardner, Scot  The Dead I Know

Find more information about Scot Gardner on the author’s homepage here. Read a review here. The publisher has downloadable notes for teachers and teacher reviews available on their site. Readingjay‘s review here and ReadPlus review

Honour Books

Newton, Robert

When We Were Two

The publisher’s page has some information. Read a review from the Fancy Goods site and a review from ReadPlus.

Condon, Bill  A Straight Line to my Heart

Find more information about Bill Condon on his website. Read a review here and another from Read Plus. The publisher has downloadable notes for teachers and teacher reviews available on their site.

Other shortlisted books:

Bauer, Michael Gerard  Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel

Find more information about on the author’s homepage. Reviewed on the Good Reads site here.

Dubosarsky, Ursula  The Golden Day

Find more information about the author on her website. Read a review here. The publisher has downloadable notes for teachers and teacher reviews available on their site. Listen to Ursula Dubosarsky discussing The Golden Day on ABC Radio National’s The Book Show. You can also watch the BookTrailer

McGahan, Andrew  Ship Kings: The Coming of the Whirlpool

The author has a “mini site” as part of the Allen&Unwin site. Review here There is a Radio National podcast of an author interview available to listen to and you can read an interview with Andrew McGahan about The Coming of the Whirlpool (the Fancy Goods blog). There is also a discussion by the author on the Readings site here. The publisher offers downloadable notes for teachers and teacher reviews available on their site.

Reading a book

A good video to have on the screen in the library and the year 7 common space. A great way to catch the boys attention  at the start of this school year.

CBCA Book of the Year 2010 Winners

I was very pleased that Jarvis 24 was the CBCA winner this year. This is a great book for the boys at our school. It is set in Melbourne, has Aussie Rules football as a background and a young man going through some easily  identifiable teenage concerns.

I wrote a post about a video interview with David Metzenthen. In it he talks about writing and about the novel earlier this year.

Older Readers Book of the Year

• NB: These books may be for mature readers
• WINNER: Metzenthen, David   Jarvis 24 (Penguin) Set in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne there is already a “hook” for our boys. It is a love story but not the “girly” stories that sometimes get written. It is a good story for young men. Marc is a private school boy on work experience. He meets Elektra, an elite runner from Broome, who has been “bought” by another big Melbourne school. The story is about how two young people see their world and the love story is really doomed from the start. Mark realizes that Elektra will run away from him in the end. For all that I have said, the story is humorous and concerns friendship and what you can offer to others. Many of our boys could relate to the characters and situation. 
• It is also nominated for the Prime Minister’s  Literary Award 2010                                
• Honour:  Clarke, Judith The Winds of Heaven (Allen & Unwin) (Upper age level) From the point-of-view of an older woman as she looks back on her life and choices made. A retell by Clementine and an ccount by Fan (city and country) A very sad story.                           
• Honour:  Millard, Glenda  A Small Free Kiss in the Dark (Allen & Unwin) The author uses beautiful lyrical prose. We are presented us with a grim scenario – the outbreak of war (and it comes to Melbourne) – but it is the story of hope and survival in post-apocalyptic world.       

Younger Readers Book of the Year

• NB: These books are intended for independent younger readers
• WINNER:  Hirsch, Odo  Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool       
• Honour:  Lester, Alison  Running with the Horses                 
• Honour:  Murphy, Sally Illus: Potter, Heather  Pearl Verses the World   

Early Childhood Book of the Year

• NB: Intended for children in the pre-reading to early reading stages
• WINNER:  Shanahan, Lisa Illus: Quay, Emma  Bear & Chook by the Sea  A new adventure for Bear and Chook. It is about the value of friendship. A beautful protrayal of a journey/trip to the seaside. Beautiful colours and illusrtation – esp showing movement Fearless: Lovely portrayal of the passage of time (with the children growing bigger)
• Honour:  Booth, Christina  Kip Predicable and repetitive storylines that are great for small children. Very interesting use of the streetscape that continues right though the book.                                           
• Honour: Gleeson, Libby Illus: Blackwood, Freya  Clancy & Millie and the Very Fine House Great use of illustration

Picture Book of the Year

• NB: Intended for an audience ranging from birth to 18 years. Some books may be for mature readers
• WINNER:  Rogers, Gregory  The Hero of Little Street Wordless picture book. We have met the boy before in the Boy, the Bear, the Baron, the Bard. The illustrations in the book range in size from small sequential frames, to frames of varying sizes on a page to a full page and there is one double-page spread.
• Honour: Cool, Rebecca, Text: Millard, Glenda  Isabella’s Garden Eastern European fairytale-style used throughout the book. The story is a variant of ‘This is the House that Jack Built’ and it ebbs and flows as the seasons pass in the garden. A word in the rhyme also changes slightly. 
• Honour:  Oliver, Narelle  Fox and Fine Feathers  Constructed like a fable, this book also has an environmental theme. The images extend beyond their frames and vary in size from page to page therefore visually interesting. There are wordless double-page spreads to some pages with small storyboard-like images. There is also a dramatic leaping fox page                                      

Eve Pownall Book of the Year

• NB: Intended for an audience ranging from birth to 18 years. Some books may be for mature readers
• WINNER:  Macinnis, Peter  Australian Backyard Explorer                  
• Honour:  Patrick, Tanya, Illus: Hutcheson, Nicholas  Polar Eyes: a Journey to Antarctica
• Honour: Yalata & Oak Communities with Mattingley, Christobel  Maralinga: The Anangu Story

Turning the pages : Rare books from the British Library

What amazing opportunities we have now that we can digitize many very old and delicate original sources. The British Library has an Online Gallery called Turning the Pages.  Now pages of some of the world’s most protected, cherished, antiquarian books from the library’s collection are available to be viewed electronically. Once we would not have been able to get any where near these books as they are too valuable or fragile for public display but now we can enjoy a rich interactive experience with these rare resources. There are a number of options for you depending on the operating system your computer uses.  

 Here you can leaf through pages of 15 incredible original texts, from  an original copy of Alice’s Adventures Underground to Jane Austen’s History of England.

When you flip through the pages of Lewis Carrolls original manuscript of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground  (that would become Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) you can view Carroll’s handwritten story and see his self-drawn illustrations. You can also view The History of England, which Jane Austen hand wrote when she was only 15 years old.

Also on offer are a variety of texts that include the Lindisfarne Gospels, sketches by Leonardo (1508), the oldest printed book, Diamond Sutra (868 China) and Mozart’s musical diary. 

There are a variety of options you can choose when you are viewing a book page by page. These include:

• the ability to magnify the text
• Listen to a reading of text
• Read commentary about it.

 

These are primary sources from the different eras in history. It is a very rich resource offering unusual and rare content. I can’t stop looking at these books, they are quite addictive and the narrations are a  fabulous addition.